A Very Merry Mass Effect Holiday
by Gamedude178
Summary: Its Christmas Eve on the Normandy and the crew recieves a transmission of a Cerberus invasion on a major Earth base. Everyone on the base is being held hostage and the team need's to find out what Cerberus wants and why and know one can even begin to imagine what they will find on the inside of the base... Happy Holiday's everyone and enjoy! Reviews are welcome :)


A Very Merry Mass Effect Holiday

It was Christmas Eve aboard the Normandy and the crew was gathered around telling stories of Christmas past. The ship was decorated from head to toe in twinkling lights, festive ornaments and more. The crew was in a full holiday swing, including the non-human members of the crew who were whirled up in the spirit of the holidays. "E.D.I. play Jingle Bell Rock again!" Ashley shouted over the joyous laughter of the crew.

"And Vega get us another round of eggnog!" hooted Jacob.

James gave a sigh, "And, I assume everyone wants some more snacks with that?"

"Ha-ha_, _Vega do you really have to ask?" said Ashley with a smile.

"Commander, incoming transmission from Admiral Hackett on priority line alpha".

"Patch him through E.D.I." replied Shepard.

"Good evening Admiral, and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Commander. I'm afraid I have some bad news, and I hate to bring it to your attention especially during the holidays, but this is a matter of grave importance. Squadrons of Cerberus troops have attacked one of our main bases; Base Alpha Pole or North Pole Base. Currently, Cerberus has the base occupied and it's impossible to tell how many troops are inside. What we do know is that there haven't been any casualties so far, and that Cerberus is holding everyone on the base hostage. We've received a transmission from Cerberus and it appears as though they want to come to some sort of agreement and they are willing to release the hostages. Listen to this transmission, it's mostly static, but see what you can make of it Commander."

"SHHH…HUMMM…Party…BUZZ…SHHH…NHHH…invite…Alliance…hostages…negotiate...attend_…_SHHHH…HUMM_."_

"It's extremely convoluted sir." answered Shepard shaking his head.

"E.D.I. see if you can piece together anything understandable from the transmission."

In an instant E.D.I replied "Commander, I was able to root out a few intelligible words. Party is one of them, invite is another, and it appears as though the Alliance was mentioned. I was also able to decode the words hostages, negotiate and attend. The message appears to be cryptic. If I were to infer though it appears as if Cerberus is willing to negotiate over the hostages, but what they want out of this negotiation is the million dollar question." said E.D.I genuinely puzzled.

"Commander, I'm sending you and your team to the base. You're to recon and secure the area. Once you do that, I'm counting on you to make contact with the Cerberus forces occupying the base, and find out what it is they want and why. And, above all else avoid any unnecessary casualties, and get all of those hostages out! Keep me updated Commander, Hackett out."

"Okay everyone you heard the man, Joker prep the ship for flight."

"Aye-aye Commander, I just hope I don't get a F.W.I., I've had a few too many of Vega's famous eggnogs!" teased Joker.

"Everyone else get to your stations and prep for drop off!" barked Shepard.

"Commander, E.T.A. to the drop zone is 30 minutes."

"Roger that E.D.I." replied Shepard firmly.

"Hey Commander, can we talk?" yelled Vega over the cacophony of motion on the deck.

"What's on your mind, James?"

"Am I the only one with a sour taste in their mouth? I mean I know Cerberus doesn't have the best reputation around, but it doesn't seem like them to take hostages on a holiday, especially a _HUMAN_ one. I never thought I'd see the Illusive Man play Scrooge."

Shepard raised one eyebrow and replied, "I'll give you that James. I mean, after all Cerberus is a Pro-Human organization. Whatever they want it must be pretty damn important. Let's just focus on getting these people out and home for the holidays."

"Oh, and one more thing I need you on your toes for this mission Lieutenant, I don't know what we'll encounter down there and Cerberus is one for playing tricks."

"Aye-aye Sir" James said with a brisk salute and walked away. As the rest of the crew was prepping, Shepard headed for the Normandy's armory. On his way there, Shepard couldn't help but think about his previous engagements with Cerberus. His mind raced, trying to remember everything he could about this extremely crafty enemy; their weapons, tactics, and anything that would give him and his team an edge in the confines of the base. When Shepard arrived at the armory he began to suit up in his standard issue N-7 combat armor. He then began to assess the different weapons available to him and his team. Immediately, two weapons came to mind; "_The M-8 Avenger and the M-23 Katana". _Shepard thought to himself, "_The Avenger would be perfect for this close range situation, and you can't go wrong with the M-23 Katana; it's the perfect CQC shotgun"._

Shepard lost in a sea of battle strategies and tactics was startled when E.D.I's monotone voice came over the ships intercom, "Commander we are orbiting the base, scans show no hostile threats outside…and I'm picking up Admiral Hackett's signal coming from inside the base."

Shepard raised his head in curiosity and thought to himself "_This must be some sort of trap. I wonder how they're able to replicate Hackett's signal and why." _"E.D.I. are you able to tell if Hackett's signal is authentic?"

"Yes Commander, it appears as though the signal is authentic, and further scans reveal more high-ranking Alliance officers inside the base such as, Captain Anderson."

"This mission just got a whole helluva a lot harder. God only knows what Cerberus is planning, but I'm sure it's gonna be interesting. E.D.I. have Garrus and James meet me in the drop shuttle and keep your eyes on the ground, I don't want anything sneaking up on us from the outside." And, with that Shepard was on his way to the drop shuttle that would take him and his team to the surface of the North Pole where something Shepard couldn't even begin to imagine was waiting for them. On the surface of the Pole, Shepard and his team were greeted with harsh winds and freezing temperatures. The sun was setting and it reflected pink and orange off the white mountains of snow. "On me", Shepard shouted over his in helmet microphone as the team approached the base. The team reached the base's outer bulkhead and began working like a well-oiled machine. Garrus took the right of the bulkhead and Shepard took the left, while James stood in the middle with his M-23 Katana held high and ready to fire. The bulkhead was massive and more than capable of withstanding the extreme winds and temperatures of the pole. As James began to approach the bulkhead, it automatically opened. The team quickly and precisely rushed inside the base with their weapons drawn.

"Clear!" shouted James with relief.

"I don't like this!" said Garrus wearily over the mic.

Shepard paused and panned the corridor with his M-8 Avenger, "Everyone stay sharp we're clearly being lured further in." The team slowly moved up the dark corridor continually scanning with their weapons. "Joker we're inside the base, so far no contacts."

"Roger that Commander" replied Joker immediately. The team moved quickly from corridor to corridor cautious and ready for whatever Cerberus might have waiting for them. "Commander, I'm picking up several contacts on the radar, but there coming from the center of the base." said Joker over the comm.

"Roger" said Shepard sternly.

"Shepard you need to hear this" Garrus said fiddling with buttons on his Omnitool. "_You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear, voices singing let's be jolly; deck the halls with boughs of holly, rocking around the Christmas tree…." _

"Christmas songs, what the hell?" said James with confusion in his voice.

"Keep listening, Shepard!" "_HAHAH…Their running late, wonder where they are…" _

"That sounds like Anderson" said Shepard confused. _"What in the hell is going on. What is it that Cerberus has up their sleeve?" _Shepard thought to himself. "This must be some sort of new ploy by Cerberus. They are obviously trying to get into our heads. Whatever we hear and whatever happens we can't let it get to us. Just remember the mission….and the stakes!" said Shepard to the team calmly. "Okay, here's the plan; the Alliance "signals" and the Cerberus communications are coming from four floors down. We're going to use the elevator at the end of the hall, and take it down to one level above our target. I'll then send the elevator down to the target level as a distraction." Pointing to the map on his onimtool, Shepard showed his team exactly where they would be going. "We have exactly one hundred and twenty eight point seven seconds to reach the middle floor before the elevator opens and we lose the element of surprise. We'll have to hustle down the stairs to keep the advantage. James, when we do reach the bottom of the stairs I want you to have an Arc Grenade prepped and ready to go, and Garrus be ready to overload their shields. After that, we'll play it by ear and go from there. Let's move!" Finished, Shepard motioning for the team to move down the corridor, and to the elevator at the end. On their way to the elevator Shepard thought to himself, _"could this just be a training exercise? Something the Alliance setup to see if my team is ready for anything at any time? I guess we'll find out soon enough." _Once inside the elevator, Shepard pushed the appropriate buttons to reach their destination. The team was on their way and one step closer to completing their mission. It was instantaneous, as soon as the team reached their target location they were off. Garrus and James were sprinting down the hall on their way to the stairs while Shepard sent the elevator down another level, and followed behind. "Move!" yelled Shepard coming up behind Garrus and James. In a flash the team was down the stairs, and James launched his Arc Grenade down the tight corridor followed by an overload from Garrus. When the team rounded the corner, expecting enemy contact they we greeted by nothing but smoke and debris form the Arc Grenade.

"What the hell?" whispered James.

Garrus turned and faced Shepard "No Contact! Now I know we are definitely walking into a trap! Okay, lets..."

James interrupted "do you hear that? It's the blasted Christmas songs again and it sounds like people…laughing…and talking."

"Okay, let's figure this out…once and for all!" Shepard said with determination in his voice. The team sprinted down the corridor, and formed up on the door where all the commotion was coming from. But Cerberus…or whoever was inside obviously heard them because the entire room got quiet in an instant. The team didn't hesitate, and breached the room.

As James kicked open the door, the team was caught off guard with a loud "_SURPRISE_!" coming from everyone in the room. The lights turned on in an instant, and Shepard and the team realized it was a surprise holiday party for the entire crew of the Normandy. The room was decked out with glittering tinsel, sparkling lights, and colorful ornaments. In the far right corner was a huge Christmas tree, one of the biggest Shepard had ever seen. The entire room was filled with the aroma of fresh baked foods and Christmas wines. Shepard and his team were totally taken aback.

From across the room, Shepard noticed Anderson and Hackett headed his way. "Surprise Shepard!" shouted Anderson in a joyous tone.

"Shepard we were beginning to think you'd be late to your own holiday party!" laughed Hackett.

Shepard was almost speechless. "You two really had us fooled!"

"_Ha-ha, _I'm sure we did. We heard the grenades and everything. What was all that about?

"_Ha-ha" _"Nothing _ha-ha..._ nothing at all, and thanks a lot. I really appreciate it."

Hackett took on a serious tone and laid his hand on Shepard's shoulder, "No, thank you Shepard, for everything you've done. Not only for the Alliance, but for the entire Galaxy as well. You've saved our asses more times than I can count, and you and your team deserve this party. Speaking of which, call the rest of the crew down here, this is their party as well!"

"Joker, get everyone down here, you have to see this!" laughed Shepard over the comm.

"Aye-Aye, Commander." said Joker a bit puzzled.

"To Shepard, and the entire crew of the Normandy!", Anderson shouted as he raised his wine glass, "Happy Holidays!"

The entire room followed with a joyous "_HAPPY HOLIDAYS!"_


End file.
